Dear friend of the arts and possibly friend of mine (which may be the only reason you’re reading a letter from the board president):
Please don’t clap between movements or whisper to your neighbor during the performance or dance or sing along. Try not to cough, sneeze, grunt or bark, and for Bach’s sake, please don’t get your cell phone out for any reason.
Nothing against our all-in-one distractors, they can do amazing things, but they can’t transport you to the soul of a nineteenth century deaf genius or into the atmosphere of a Soviet city under siege by Nazi forces. Like great literature, this music has the power to take us beyond the boundaries of our solitary existence. But, we can only slip through that veil if we are present.
Consequently all the rules. All of them geared to slow and settle, to clear the clutter, to quiet our restless spirits. Even if you are not in the mood, maybe your neighbor has been dying to visit dear Amadeus who she hasn’t encountered since her grandmother introduced her as a young child. Let’s try not to get in the way of that reunion.
Please do bring your enthusiasm, your open ears and mind, a cough drop or two and a tissue for the moment the music dives into your heart.
And for anyone sitting near me who has noticed some swaying, humming, coughing, and premature clapping, and wonders where I get off being the concert hall monitor, mea culpa.
Nancy Stoffer President San Juan Symphony, Board of Directors
Message from the Music Director
Greetings everyone and welcome to the San Juan Symphony!
Season 39 promises to be full of vibrant, radiant, and often thrilling music. Standing on the podium will provide such an incredible opportunity to shape the orchestra into different molds. Each program harnesses the power of the orchestra, but in such provocatively different ways. The feeling of musical echoes will resonate from program to program, tying a thread between Stravinsky and Prokofiev, weaving together Mozart, Montgomery, and Mendelssohn.
We continue exploring “Beyond the Concert Hall” with a Chamber Music Series that kicks off with live performances of Spanish Broom Flamenco! Don’t miss these compelling artists in Durango and Farmington, the impact of their performance will leave you breathless. The SJS Chamber Singers are back with an excellent Fall program plus the Majesty of Christmas, and our friend Tim Fain offers a rare, multimedia-infused Solo Violin Recital at Roshong Recital Hall. Mark your calendars for the historic first SJS Youth Orchestras concert in Farmington as well!
On behalf of our entire organization, thank you for your support. Part of why we are musicians is to make music for our audiences, to communicate with listeners. I’m thrilled with the way our community has supported, volunteered, and given tirelessly on behalf of our musical pursuits. Please spread the word and invite your family and friends to experience the SJS!
See you soon!
Dr. Thomas Heuser Music Director, San Juan Symphony
About Our Music Director: Dr. Thomas Heuser
Maestro Heuser serves in the Walter Dear Music Director Chair
American conductor Thomas Heuser has been widely recognized for his stirring leadership and energetic presence both onstage and in the community. In 2024, Heuser opens his 14th season as Music Director of the Idaho Falls Symphony and his 9th season as Music Director of the San Juan Symphony, two regional professional orchestras that unite their communities around concerts and educational endeavors at the highest levels. Thomas lives in Durango with his wife, violinist Lauren Avery, and their son Theodore.
Dr. Heuser was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for Orchestral Conducting in Germany while serving as a Conducting Fellow with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His Fulbright residency at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München included orchestral performances in Munich and Berlin and his European operatic debut with Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland. Moving from Munich to San Francisco, Thomas enjoyed three seasons as the Principal Guest Conductor of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra, working alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony.
Following debut performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Santa Fe Symphony, he was immediately reengaged to perform an outdoor concert with the Santa Fe musicians and the celebrated Latin band Nosotros. Previously, Thomas has appeared as a Guest Conductor and Cover Conductor with the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming and Durango’s Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. Maestro Heuser has given subscription concert performances with the Lexington Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, the Boise Baroque Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, as well as the Winston-Salem, Illinois, Wyoming, Bozeman, Missoula, Flagstaff, Vallejo, Grand Junction, and Portsmouth Symphony Orchestras, among others. He was the conductor of the 2020 All-State Festival Orchestras in New Mexico and Alabama.
The son of two molecular biologists at Washington University in St. Louis, Thomas began violin lessons at an early age and studied piano at the St. Louis Symphony Music School. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College as a piano performance major and earned his Masters in Instrumental Conducting (MM) from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. In 2013 he completed his Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting (DMA) from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. His primary conducting mentors include Paavo Järvi, Bruno Weil, Mark Gibson, Thomas Baldner, David Effron, Marin Alsop, David Robertson, Gustav Meier, and Larry Rachleff.
Message from the Executive Director
Dear Friends of the San Juan Symphony,
I am delighted to welcome you to Season 39 of the San Juan Symphony—”Radiant Echoes.” As the new Executive Director and a proud addition to the San Juan Symphony family, I am filled with immense enthusiasm and anticipation as we begin this journey together—a season certain to be packed with unforgettable musical experiences for us all.
Since arriving in the Four Corners area, I have been nothing but awestruck at every turn. Every mountain vista is somehow more beautiful than the last, every interaction with community members more engaging than I could have imagined, and the generosity of spirit racing through our supporters more rampant than the gorgeous rivers that cut through our towns. I am filled with gratitude to be a part of something so special with all of you.
It is remarkable to have a community that surrounds the San Juan Symphony that allows for the orchestra of talented musicians, led by our esteemed conductor, to bring world-class classical music to this region. We are also committed to growing the next generation of musicians and future arts advocates through our Youth Orchestra and other educational outreach programming. Access to quality music education is instrumental as it shapes young people into better individuals and more engaged members of society.
I have spent my life in and out of concert halls and rehearsal spaces as a performer, music educator and patron experiencing first hand the power of music and how it transcends the noise of our modern life. I’ve performed “Nimrod” by Elgar while fighting back tears, sat in the audience of a Chicago Brass concert in disbelief of my luck, and seen the faces of 200 sixth graders simultaneously light up after the final note of their first performance of Jingle Bells. No live musical performance is ever exactly the same as another, allowing for a unique shared experience no matter if your seat is in the balcony or on stage.
So, I invite you to truly embrace the musical moments this year and share them with your friends so they echo radiantly amongst our community in the same manner that the final note of Beethoven Five will echo off the walls of the performance hall before an eruption of raucous applause. Without the generous support and contributions of our patrons, donors, volunteers, and local music enthusiasts, none of this is possible, and those of us at the San Juan Symphony are so grateful to embark on this adventure alongside all of you.
Meghann Zenteno
Sponsored by
Jim Foster
MODERN CLASSICAL STYLE
Saturday, October 12, 7:30pm Community Concert Hall Durango
Sunday, October 13, 3:00pm Henderson Performance Hall Farmington
Thomas Heuser, conductor
PROGRAM
Overture to Shakespeare’s Felix Mendelssohn “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” (1809-1847)
Op. 21 (1826)
Pulcinella: Suite: Music After Igor Stravinsky
J.B. Pergolesi (1919-1920) (1882-1971)
I. Sinfonia
II. Serenata
III. Scherzino (Allegro, Andantino)
IV. Tarantella
V. Toccata
VI. Gavotte con due variazioni
VII. Duet: Vivo
VIII. Minuetto
IX. Finale
INTERMISSION
Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
K. 543 (1788)
I. Adagio - Allegro
II. Andante con moto
III. Menuetto: Allegretto
IV. Allegro
Modern Classical Style: Program Notes
The music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847) strikes me as somewhat miraculous. Here was a musical mind that needed only a few years to mature into a fully formed composer, much like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had astonished the musical world as a young musician. Mendelssohn, however, was not paraded around Europe by his father, but instead his talents (and that of his older sister, Fanny Mendelssohn) were nurtured in their Berlin home. As an adolescent, Felix would have his music performed by a private orchestra for the associates of his wealthy parents, including a set of thirteen string symphonies that he completed between the ages of 12 and 14. Instructors noted that they had little to teach the child, and at the age of 17, he produced his Overture to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1826)
Hardly a work of juvenalia, the Overture is considered a groundbreaking example of “program music,” referencing the Shakespearean text itself, capturing its characters and magical moods. The music begins with a series of four rising chords that suggest a quiet scene at dusk, followed by a literal “scampering feet” motive in the strings that mimics Shakespeare’s Fairies. The full orchestra arrives triumphantly in a stately manner, which leads to a romantic theme that represents the lovers. The “braying of Bottom” comes next, with the strings “hee-hawing,” followed by a series of boisterous hunting calls that ends the first part.
True to his Classical roots, Mendelssohn fashions the overture in Sonata form, which means the first part (Exposition) leads into a passage of variation (Development) and concludes with a return to the music of the first part (Recapitulation). Mendelssohn returns to the opening four chords to demarcate the structure of this Sonata form, using recurring themes as motives, pioneering the format that later composers of the Romantic era would emulate. The premiere of the Overture occurred in what is now Poland; it was the 18-year-old composer’s public debut. The incidental music to the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream that includes the famous Wedding March was written later in 1842, five years before he died at the impossibly young age of 38.
Program Notes by Music Director Thomas Heuser
Mendelssohn’s musical upbringing was firmly rooted in Baroque traditions, especially the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Fast forward to the 20th century and the music of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), and we find another composer fascinated by the Baroque aesthetic. Following the emotional, oversized works at the fin-de-siecle,the inter-war reaction was a Neoclassical trend, favoring clear textures and an emphasis on counterpoint that pointed back to Baroque masters like Bach. Stravinsky began his foray into the style with the ballet Pulcinella (1920), and is said to have remarked: “Pulcinella was my discovery of the past, the epiphany through which the whole of my late work became possible. It was a backward look, of course— the first of many love affairs in that direction—but it was a look in the mirror, too.”
The original ballet Pulcinella was commissioned by the Russian ballet impresario, Sergei Diaghilev, who wanted a work based on commedia dell’arte characters for his Ballet Russes. Pablo Picasso provided the sets and costumes. Stravinsky describes the music as “based on music by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi,” though today, the attribution of the familiar opening tune usually goes to the Italian Baroque composer Domenico Gallo (1730-1768). Regardless, the music’s elegant Baroque sentiment is echoed in the forces required for performance. Like a concerto grosso, the larger ensemble consists of individual soloists: there are features for the small band of wind players, the principal String Quintet, and in the original ballet, solo voices joined the fray. The Suite from 1922 pares down music into purely instrumental forces, but the singing quality of the music and the remarkably memorable tunes are pristinely preserved.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) completed his final three symphonies in an incredible burst of productivity. Over the course of about six weeks, Mozart crafted these outstanding works: the Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major (1788) was the first to arrive in late June, followed by Symphonies 40 and 41 in July and August. We can and should marvel at that rate of composition, especially because of the cohesion and quality of the three symphonies. Some historians also consider the three works to be interrelated, part of a “set” of three symphonies that can be understood to run from one into the next. We will have an opportunity to hear them in that sequence over the next three years, one each during our 39th, 40th, and 41st seasons.
Program Notes
The 39th Symphony opens with radiant grandiosity, harkening back to French Overtures from the Baroque era and the symphonic introductions of Franz Joseph Haydn, here infused with the drama that Mozart learned as an opera composer. The first movement is in three-quarter time, giving an unusual opportunity for waltz-like themes that aren’t typical for first movements. Dynamic contrasts and gestural motives abound, with amazing writing for the strings and soloistic woodwinds. The second movement also echoes Haydn’s style, with a simple, stately dance providing graceful upward melodies that lead into dramatic intervening episodes. The third movement Minuet and Trio has great energy, and is a model of the Classical aesthetic: clear and refined textures make the music immediately accessible, much like the folksy ländler directly quoted in the Trio. The fourth movement is an etude for string players, requiring the kind of technical playing that makes Mozart an essential component of string pedagogy. The music buzzes from start to finish, and ends unapologetically with a great sense of satisfaction.
Sponsored by
Ulli Lange
TIM FAIN AND BEETHOVEN FIVE
Saturday, November 16, 7:30pm Community Concert Hall Durango
Sunday, November 17, 3:00pm Henderson Performance Hall Farmington
Thomas Heuser, conductor
Tim Fain, violin soloist
PROGRAM
Edge of a Dream for Solo Violin
Tim Fain (b. 1976) and Orchestra (2020)
I. Allegro
II. Adagio con moto
III. Allegro vivace, quasi presto Tim Fain, violin
By arrangement with Tim Fain / Blind Bay Music, LLC
INTERMISSION
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Ludwig van Beethoven Op. 67 (1808) (1770-1827)
I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante con moto
III. Allegro
IV. Allegro
Susan Reese
Musician Spotlight: Don Williams
Hello! Before I begin, I’d like to say thank you! Thank you for supporting live music and the SJS!! Art cannot exist in a vacuum, and your presence is as much a part of every piece of music as the sounds coming from the stage! Also, selfishly, I very much appreciate that your support accords me the continuing opportunity to be a part of art in the Four Corners area!
Both my parents played instruments (my Mom violin and my Dad trumpet) but only through high school. I don’t remember why I chose the trumpet but distinctly remember going to the local music store the summer before my fifth-grade year and renting an old, beat-up Olds student model trumpet (what I wouldn’t give to have that instrument still – blotchy lacquer and all). I also remember messing around with it in the backseat on the way to a baseball game and bumping my mouth pretty good – some brass playing wisdom imparted to me at the very beginning!
Besides these early memories, I can’t remember a time when holding a trumpet didn’t feel natural, when making music wasn’t magical and alluring for some undefinable reason. I didn’t know I could make music as a profession until late in high school. That moment was literally lifechanging! I have degrees in trumpet performance from the University of Northern Colorado and University of Colorado, Boulder. My time there not only helped create the musician I am today but also the person – I met my three best friends during college as well as my wife! Now I’ve traded late night practicing at the music building for lots of driving – in addition to playing here and freelancing throughout Colorado, I am also a member of the Wyoming Symphony in Casper, WY – and time with wonderful friends and colleagues! I also make regular trips to Casper to teach trumpet at Casper College as well as to Pueblo where I teach trumpet at Colorado State University’s Pueblo campus.
I first made the six-plus hour drive from the Eastern slope in the fall of 2008 and I still look forward to every trip (some of the snowier ones admittedly a bit less) as a chance to not only make great music but see and meet wonderful people!
About the Guest Artist
Avery Fisher Career Grant-winning violinist and composer Tim Fain has earned a reputation as a mesmerizing creator and performer appearing on today’s greatest stages. More recently recognized for his work as a composer with an authentic voice, Fain pushes the envelope with cutting-edge technology and has carved out one of the most wildly diverse careers in the music industry.
Seen on-screen and heard in the Grammynominated soundtrack to Black Swan, he is known for his numerous performances in soundtracks, including 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Don’t Look Up, Indignation, and HBO’s Succession (also making a cameo appearance). Increasingly acknowledged for his original film music, Fain composed the score for Munch (Best Nordic Film nominee, Göteborg Film Festival), stop-motion film Los Huesos (Best Short, Venice Film Festival), and media for The North Face and Ralph Lauren.
In the concert music world, Fain’s violin concerto Edge of a Dream was premiered by the Amarillo Symphony, with recent and upcoming performances with the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Maryland, Anchorage, Helena, San Juan, and Missoula Symphonies. His work Resonance, commissioned by Google/YouTube for a groundbreaking VR video, was recorded by The Knights (cond. Eric Jacobsen) subsequently shown at The Sundance Film Festival. His works were also used for campaigns by Sierra Club and Made in a Free World.
Fain continues to be at the forefront of technology, with boundary-pushing projects and VR experiences created for Samsung at TriBeCa Film Festival, Facebook/Oculus, The Future of Storytelling in NYC, Forbes and the city of Jerusalem, and shown at SXSW. Fain’s LED light installation with Symmetry Labs was featured on BBC and PBS, and he gave a TEDx talk on emerging technologies in music.
Whether touring in a duo with Philip Glass, performing solo with the National Orchestra of Spain or American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, or collaborating with artists ranging from Mitsuko Uchida to composer Meredith Monk, jazz pianist Billy Childs, Bryce Dessner, DJ Spooky, Iggy Pop, Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty), James Blake, or Christina Aguilera, Fain electrifies audiences. His wildly diverse career has taken him to unique spaces all across the globe, including on-stage at the NYC Ballet, The Vatican, and a performance for the Dalai Lama’s 80th Birthday.
Tim Fain and Beethoven Five: Program Notes
Violinist and composer Tim Fain (b. 1976) has been a frequent Guest Artist with the San Juan Symphony for more than a decade. His most recent solo appearance with the Prokofiev Second Violin Concerto was just last season, when he stepped in to perform the work as a substitute on just 6 days’ notice! We are delighted to feature Tim as both violinist and composer this week; he has been turning heads throughout his career for pushing the envelope of innovation. From original movie scores and Hollywood violin solos to recordings in virtual reality, Tim’s creativity knows no bounds, including the creation of adaptive sound design for multisensory Recharge Rooms and other installations in healthcare facilities around the US to help hospital workers and staff. During the 2020 pandemic shutdown, Tim found time to work on his first concerto for violin and orchestra, Edge of a Dream (2020), which quickly became a very personal undertaking:
“As I began serious work on Edge of a Dream in Spring of 2020, qualities of hope, joy and even elation emerged in my writing. Though putting notes on paper did not occur without some struggle and difficulty, my feeling as I was writing was in stark contrast to the ever-present turmoil and uncertainty which I and so many others were experiencing during these past couple of years. I had the sensation that I was at the edge of something: a feeling of profound hope just out of reach, the beginning of something new, a significant turning point for myself and many others. Looking back, I now realize that I needed to express this intense, and at times forceful yearning during the pandemic to hold on to the dream of a better future.”
“Throughout much of the work, I employ several short motifs, juxtaposed as pixels, through which a larger structure emerges. In Part I, the three rising porches in the strings at the outset of the movement, the insistent staccato figures in the woodwinds, and the two downward sweeping intervals in the solo violin are recombined and remixed. By contrast, Part II explores longer-form melody: after a chaotic climactic moment and short cadenza, the solo violin finds its way back home to the original tonality and peaceful character. Part III is, once again, almost entirely centered around a short motif consisting of the four notes of an arpeggiated 3rd inversion D major 7th chord. As the original descending intervallic motif from Part I returns, now in a somewhat more hopeful major tonality, the movement comes to an exuberant close.”
Program Notes by Music Director Thomas Heuser
The enormous impact of the nine symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) loomed as both influence and obstacle for future composers. He had encompassed the brotherhood of mankind in his Ninth Symphony, and created a picturesque paradise in the Pastoral. The Eroica was dedicated to the heroic ideals embodied by Napoleon, and the Seventh was called the “Apotheosis of the Dance.” Taken together, these works altered the symphonic landscape, employing vastly longer forms and dramatically expanding the scale of expressive possibilities. For many, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 (1808) offers one of the greatest examples of symphonic ingenuity, where motivic cohesion, theme and variation, and the sheer power of a symphony orchestra come together in awe-inspiring ways.
The music was written over the course of several years, when Beethoven was in his 30s, troubled by his worsening deafness, and constantly interrupted by a string of other projects. When it finally debuted in 1808, it was part of a now-infamous concert in Vienna, conducted by Beethoven himself, consisting of more than four hours of Beethoven’s music, including the premieres of the Fifth Symphony, the Sixth Symphony, and the Choral Fantasy. The orchestra had only one rehearsal for the event, and according to legend, Beethoven had to stop repeatedly in performance to fix mistakes and start over. Needless to say, reception was mixed, especially because the auditorium was freezing cold and the audience exhausted. But almost immediately, the world made the Fifth Symphony a staple; it was performed in 1842 on the first concert of the New York Philharmonic, and is still performed more than any other major work.
The first movement opens with that iconic motive – brutally rhythmic, obsessively repeated – which is music that has become a “household name,” second only perhaps to his Ode to Joy. The structure of the first movement is designed to showcase the depths that can be reached in the single C Minor theme: the composer mines the germinal idea for possibilities, both harmonic, dynamic, and contrapuntal. The whole movement is woven so tightly, the only moment of respite comes when the Oboe waxes eloquently for a brief moment. The listener is then sent crashing into still more reiterations of the motive and a visceral, violent conclusion.
The second movement is structured as a theme and variations, with the bucolic melody starting out in the cellos and violas. Different subsidiary melodies are born out of the theme, and with each variation, the rhythmic material becomes more varied and complex, with still more layers. The third movement straddles the traditional Minuet and Trio form and Beethoven’s preferred Scherzo form. The main theme features the return of the first movement’s iconic motive, here blazing through the French
horns and woodwinds in a glorious and powerful display. There is an incredible moment of transition between the third and fourth movement that is pure magic, taking us from the darkness and ambiguity of Scherzo into the triumphant Finale in C Major. Here the trombones, piccolo, and contrabassoon are suddenly introduced, giving Beethoven an expanded range to emote some of his most majestic, praiseworthy music. The great critic E.T.A. Hoffmann published an anonymous description in 1813 that captures the wonderment:
“How this wonderful composition, in a climax that climbs on and on, leads the listener imperiously forward into the spirit world of the infinite!... No doubt the whole rushes like an ingenious rhapsody past many a man, but the soul of each thoughtful listener is assuredly stirred, deeply and intimately, by a feeling that is none other than that unutterable portentous longing, and until the final chord—indeed, even in the moments that follow it—he will be powerless to step out of that wondrous spirit realm where grief and joy embrace him in the form of sound....”
Spanish Broom Flamenco!
Friday, September 20 | 7:00pm
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave., Durango
Saturday, September 21 | 2:00pm
First Presbyterian Church | 865 N. Dustin Ave., Farmington
We are Spanish Broom. Our mission is to sustain a collective of artists whose collaboration is a base for creativity, accessibility and financial support. We strive to share our art and encourage our community to create with us. We are a collective of 11 musicians and dance artists coming from diverse communities throughout the southwest and primarily focus on Flamenco music and dance. Our various backgrounds and disciplines inform our collaborative process to create, compose, choreograph, and perform exciting, curious, innovative, and powerful work. We encourage you to learn more about us by checking our website, Facebook, instagram, and youtube pages.
The Elements
Sunday, October 27 | 3:00pm
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave., Durango
Earth, water, wind, and fire are depicted with joy, passion, and reverence in songs composed by Philip Stopford, Sarah Quartel, Palestrina, Moses Hogan, Harry Belafonte, and many more.
PROGRAM
Turn the World Around Harry Belafonte (1927-2023) Robert Freedman (1934-2018) arr. DeCormier (1922-2017)
Kevin Martin, percussion
Now Is the Cool of the Day Jean Ritchie (1922-2015) arr. Siegfried (b. 1969)
Sicut Cervus Giovanni da Palestrina (1525-1594)
God’s Gonna Set This World on Fire arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003) and Edwin B. Hogan (1940-2016)
Wind Song Bruce Stark (b. 1965)
Deep River arr. Matthew Culloton (b. 1976)
Voice on the Wind Sarah Quartel (b. 1982)
Kevin Martin, percussion
For the Beauty of the Earth Philip Stopford (b. 1977)
Love of Fire John Conahan (b. 1974) text by Sarah Hudlow
Bring Me Little Water, Silvy Huddie Ledbetter (1888-1949) arr. Adams Podd (b. 1986)
Kevin Martin, percussion
Elle Rio, double bass
Elizabeth Crawford, Director
Kyle Osborne, Associate Director
Christi Livingston, Rehearsal Pianist
Kathryn Lanute, Banner Artwork
FALL 2024 ROSTER OF SINGERS
Soprano
Amy Abel
Lori Benefiel
Lucy Johnson
Gemma Kavanagh
Kathryn Lanute
Christine Richards
Erin Sinberg
Alto
Courtney Ashmore
Linda Mack Berven
Jeanie Child
Alison Dance
Liza Tregillus
Nan Wagner
Tenor
Tom Burris
Van Butler
Dennis Costello
Marilyn Leftwich
Kyle Osborne
Dan Street
Hugh Tracy
Bass
Steve Blaylock
Drew Currie
Tom Miller
Kent Norgren
Tom Richards
KJ Troy
John Werner
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES
Solo Recital with Violinist Tim Fain
Tuesday, November 12 | 7:00pm
Roshong Recital Hall in Jones Hall, Fort Lewis College, Durango
Spiral
Themes & Highlights from Unraveling
Tim Fain, violin
Interludes Philip Glass (b. 1937)
Ornament and Crime (2010)
Ornament I
Ornament II
Ornament III
Ornament IV
Dissolve, O My Heart (2010)
Honest Music (2002)
Appalachia Waltz (1995)
Lachen verlernt (2002)
Bryce Dessner (b. 1976)
Missy Mazzoli (b. 1980)
Nico Muhly (b. 1981)
Mark O’Connor (b. 1961)
Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958)
Overview Tim Fain (b. 1976)
Stomp (2010) John Corigliano (b. 1938)
UPCOMING EVENTS
State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara’s NUTCRACKER BALLET
featuring the San Juan Symphony
December 13-15 | 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
THE MAJESTY OF CHRISTMAS
Friday, Dec. 20 | 4:00pm & 7:00pm
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave. Durango
CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES
The Life and Music of Claude Debussy Lecture Recital hosted by Dr. Rochelle Mann
Friday, January 17 | 7:00pm
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave. Durango
Saturday, January 18 | 2:00pm
Connie Gotsch Theatre | 4601 College Blvd., Farmington
DURANGO BACH FESTIVAL
March 9-15
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave. Durango
SAN JUAN SYMPHONY
CHAMBER SINGERS
Shakespeare Scenes and Songs
Sunday, May 11
Durango Arts Center | 802 E. 2nd Ave., Durango
FAMILY CONCERT:
TYRANNOSAURUS SUE!
Saturday, May 17
Community Concert Hall, Durango
Sunday, May 18
Henderson Performance Hall, Farmington
DURANGO CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL & ACADEMY
June 9-13
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave. Durango
As a non-profit dedicated to the performing arts, we are grateful for contributions in any amount. This list reflects annual donations made to the San Juan Symphony between December 31, 2023-August 20, 2024. Our list of donations will again be updated in the Spring 2025 Program. Please contact our office with any amendments; we appreciate the opportunity to correct our records. Thank you for your enduring support of our programs!
Maestro’s Circle
PRESENTER
($10,000-$19,999)
Community Foundation Serving
SW CO
Community Shares
Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation
Jim Foster
Larry & Elizabeth Crawford
Levy Family Fund
Michael Moravan
New Mexico Arts
San Juan Regional Medical Center
Steve & Marty Kiely
Susan Reese
Walter Dear & Family
Ziems Ford Corners
SPONSOR
($5,000-$9,999)
Alpine Bank Anonymous
City of Durango
City of Farmington
Colorado Creative Industries
El Pomar Foundation
LPEA
Tom & Mary Orsini
Ulli Lange
BENEFACTOR
($2,500-$4,999)
Ballantine Family Fund
Bowne Tzeng & Erin Schifeling
Coca-Cola Bottling Company
Dick & Georgeann Reitz
Douglas Brew and Dorothy Peacock
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge
Railroad
Durango Friends of The Arts
George Usinowicz
Gordon & Dene Kay Thomas
Jimmy & Meredith Mapel
PATRON
($1,000-$2,499)
Anita Cohen & Lynn Witt
Anonymous
B & C Team Fund
Bryan & Jacquelyn Dear
Carla Pinahs
D’Ann Artis
David & Mary Stengel
Don & Sandra Mapel
Duke Family Foundation Fund
Edward & Maria Kompare
Elizabeth Petersen
Eugenia Dorminy
Florian & Shelley Walchak
Geoffery A. Hirt
Ginny Brown
Gwyneth Stites
Henry and Margy Dudley
Ilga K Vise
Joseph & Catherine Pope
Karen McIntire & Mike Nettles
McLaughlin Family Charitable Fund
Nan & Brian Wagner
Norman Broad & Carol Salomon
Ruth Guarino
San Juan County Commissioners
TBK Bank
Tom & Bev Taylor
Tracy Valentine
James & Buddie Bertrand
James Peters
Janice Sheftel
Jennie Dear & Tom
Bartles
Jim Ottman
Joseph & Catherine Pope
Judy Bundy
Julia Dodd
Karen Soltes
LeMaire Family Fund
Liz Cahill
Marilyn Swanson
Mark Everson & Sara
Michaels
Mary Nowotny
Max Vogt
Michael Moravan
Nancy Stoffer
Paul & Jigger Staby
Payroll Department
Pete & Tish Varney
Raymond & Carol
Schmudde
Richard & Beverly Benford
Richard Grossman
Rochelle Mann
Ross Park
Samuel & Bonnie Avery
Stephen Bowers & Wendy Grant
Susan Washburn
William Gundlach
Symphony Circle
SUSTAINER
($500-$999)
1st Southwest Bank
Andie & Rudy Davison
Bartig-Small Family Fund
Beatrice Byrd
Cathy & Bob Eppinger
Charles Freuden
Community Foundation
Serving SW CO
Cynthia Williams
Deborah Lycan
Drs. Keith & Susan
Kujawski
Eben Harrell
Ernie & Margo Cotton
ASSOCIATE
($250-$499)
Ace Hardware of Farmington
Alden Foster
Alexandra Davison
Betsy Petersen
Bobbie Carll
Bonnie Avery
Callie Blackmer
Cecilia & Monica
Taulbee-Leaming
Chris & Chandra Stubbs
Community Foundation
Serving SW CO
David & Sally Bramhall
Dawn Krause
Doug Jacober
Gary Rottman
Gerald & Linda Harris
Jason & Heather Hooten
Jim Peters
John Byrom
John Romine
Karen Morrison
Karen Thompson &
Larry Eads
Laura Hawk
Marcey Olajos
Nanc Cole
Nancy Peake
Peggy Sharp
Ethan Hong
Geney Stan
Gloria & Dave Smiley
James Collins
Janet Blunt
Jeff & Janet Parks
Katherine Barr
Kenneth & Joyce Stevenson
Kenneth & Joyce
Stevenson
Larry & Barbara Kronick
Levi Chavis
Maynes, Bradford, Shipps & Sheftel, LLP
Michael & Jane Schultz
Piñon Family Practice
Richard & Marry Lynn
Ballantine
Robert & Emily Therrell
Robert Evans
Robin Jakino
Ruth Allison
Ruth Katzin
Sheryl & Stephen Guy
Steve & Susan Nelson
Steven Zwick
Terry Bacon & Debra
Parmenter
Tina Lemaster
Michael Schultz
Patrick Murphy
Paul Bandy
Paul Bandy & Mary
Catherine Curry
Robert Bricca
Robert Davison
Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc.
Steve & Connie Jacobs
Sue Agranoff
Thane Malison
The Thane Malison
Charitable Fund
Tyler Fouss
Wynn & Linda Berven
FRIEND
($10 - $249)
Abby Bowen
Alfred Greeley
Aline & John Schwob
Barbara Alexander
Benita Vassallo
BJ & Maria Gutierrez
Blas & Liz Zenteno
Bonnie Cowell
Brooke Goulding
Bruce & Suzanne Rodman
Candace Kendrick
Carol Grenoble
Carole McWilliams
Charles Connolly
Charles Squire
Cherry Odelberg
Cheryl Green
Chris & Laura Argotsinger
Clark & Melanie Palmer
David & Carol Grenoble
David & Terry Clark
Deb Duncan
Dick & Beth Wheeler
Dieter Wulfhorst
Dominic & Diana Palmieri
Don & Vicki Allen
Holmsten
Ellingson Condie Family
Trust
Emma Bodine
Erin Cuthbertson
Evan Gonzales
Florence Mason
Gail & Jim Williams
Gail Lauter
Gary & Beanie Archie
Guy & Sandy Alexander
Hans Freuden
Heather Hawk
Hollis Hassenstein & Richard Quinn
Hope Vail
Hyla Calcote
Isabelle Montoya
James & Cheryl Clay
James Porter
Janet Oliver
Janet Parkes
Jean Van Sickle
Jeanie Child
Jeff & Janet Parkes
Jessica Obleton
Jim Adkins & Lynn
Eustance
Jim Byrd
John Condie
John Patton
John Watson
Jon & Kathy Cohen
Jonathan Rudolf
June Russell
Justin & Anna McBrayer
Karen & Karl Mesikapp
Katherine Jetter
Kathryn & Brian Shaffer
Kent & Florence Short
Kent Stottlemyer
Kimberlee Yeargin
Laurie Lidstrom
Lee & Elsa Horowitz
Les Leach
Leslie Gleason
Linda Barnes
Luana Castellano
Lucy Johnson
Lucy McGuffey
Luke & Charlotte Pfeil
Martha Flynn
Martha Minot
Mary Moorehead
Mary O’Donnell
Mary Sue Burnham
Matthew & Amanda
Clugston
Maude GranthamRichards
Michael & Pam Stillman
Michael Mays
Michael Silver
Mike Foster
Mike Van Dusen
Nancy Brown
Nancy Sheftel-Gomes
Nicki Massieon
Patricia & Jay Joy
Paul Duggan
Pledgeling Foundation
Richard & Florence Mason
Richard & Gail Grossman
Richard White
Robert & Gloria Lehmer
Robert & Nancy Dolphin
Robert Green
Roberta Eickman
Ron & Hyla Calcote
Ron & Marilyn Garst
Rosemary Winkler
Sally Bellerue
Scott Michlin
Sean Varley
Sheri Rochford-Figgs
Stanley Rynkiewicz
Stephanie Weber
Stephen & Linda Sency
Steve & Connie Jacobs
Steve & Kathy Kellenares
Steve Krest
Steve Short
Steven & Christi
Livingston
Steven Danko
Susan & Scott Wortman
Susan Brightman
Susan Brown
Susan Robertson
Tania & Calvin Curry
Theresa Krolak-Owens
Thomas Heuser & Lauren
Avery
Tim & Carolyn Miller
Tom & Shirley Jones
Tom Campbell
Vicki Holmsten
Wayne & Susan Caplan
IN-KIND DONORS
Affordable Framing Plus
Al & Janice Curry
Alicia Romero
Allison Ragsdale
Photography
Allen & Karon Lyon
Allen Lyon
Allen Theaters
Alley House Grill
Alpine Bank
Amy Brimhall
Amy’s Bookstore
Animas Chocolate & Coffee Company
Animas Eye Care
Animas Liquor
Artesanos
Artifacts 302
ASAP Accounting & Payroll
Aspen Classical Music Festival
Aspen Leaf
Balanced Health & Aesthetics
Bark ‘N Bubble
Be FRANK Foundation
Bear Ranch
Bev & Tom Taylor
Bisti Bay
BJ & Maria Gutierrez
Blue Lake RanchDurango Bread
Brian Wagner
Brown’s Shoe Store
Buckhorn Limo Service
Cake Subscription
Carol Schmudde
Carter & Sue Hampton
Casa Blanca InnFarmington
Chili Pod
Chris & Chandra Stubbs
Chris & Laura Argotsinger
Chris Heine
Chrysalis Tattoo
Chuck & Janet Williams
Cindy Hillmer
Clancy’s Irish Cantina
Coca-Cola Bottling
Company
College Drive Cafe
Community Concert Hall
at Fort Lewis College
Connie Mack World Series
Cream Bean Berry
Creede Repertory Theater
Cynthia Rapp Sandhu
Dene & Gordon Thomas
Diane West Jewelry & Art
Dick & Georgeann Reitz
Dietz Market
Distil Spirits
Don & Sandra Maple
Durango Bird Club
Durango Craft Spirits
Durango Herald
Durango Hot Springs
Durango Land & Homes
Durango Magazine
Durango Nordic Center
Durango Nursery
Durango Olive Oil Company
Durango Playfest
Durango Rug Company
Earthen Vessel Gallery
East by Southwest/Mama
Sylvia’s
Econo Lodge Inn & Suites
Elizabeth Crawford
Encore Coffee
Eureka Clothing
Accessories & Gifts
Florian & Shelley Walchak
Fly Fishing Outing
Flying Fish Company
Fort Lewis College Music Department
Four Corners River Sports
Four Corners Yoga
Gardenschwartz
Gary Cratcher
Gay & Dick Grossman
General Palmer Hotel
Ginny Brown
Gisela Lott
Glacier Club
Good Vibrations Violin Bag
Hans Freuden
HEart Gallery
Home Depot - Farmington
Hoodoo Glass
House of Ink
Humane Society LPCHS
Idaho Falls Symphony
J.A. Jewelers & Co.
Jade and Blooms
Jake Tattoos
James Ranch
Jamie’s Fine Jewelry Shop
Janice Sheftel
Jim Bob Byrd
John O’Neal
Judith Reynolds
Julia Dodd
Karen Johnson
Karen Morrison
Katherine Jetter
Kathleen Adams
Kendall Grabin
Kennebec Cafe
Kim Martin
Kit Frost Art
Kristen Folden
KSJE Radio
Ku-Tips Nursery
Kyle Osborne
Leland House Suites of Durango
Linda Sency
Liquor World
Lisa Laughlin
Local News Network
Lowe’s in Farmington
Mable’s Bagels
Main Street Barbershop II
Maria’s Bookshop
Marilyn Taylor
Mary MacAdams
Mary Schwartz
Mary Stengel
Maureen May Art
Methodist Thrift Shop
Mika Inouye
Mill Street Bistro
Mister Carwash
Moab Music Festival
Molly Jensen
Monica & Cecilia
Taulbee-Leaming
Music in the Mountains
Nancy Stoffer
No Place Like Home
Ohana Physical Therapy
Oscar’s Cafe
Out of Sight
Overland
Papa Murphy’s
Patrick Hazen
Patrick Murphy
Paul Duggan
Pelle Spa
Perbacco Cucina
Pete & Tish Varney
Pip Howard
Pocketstone Bakery
Primi
Primus
Purgatory
Radiant Malas
Raindrops
Ram Signs
Rev. Debbie Metzgar
Shew
Rivergate Acupuncture
Rochelle Mann
Ruth Guarino
Salt 360
San Juan College - HHPC
San Juan Nurseries
San Juan Savings Guide
San Juan Symphony
Sandra & Don Mapel
Santa Fe Chamber Music
Festival
Santa Fe Desert Chorale
Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Symphony
Sara Michaels
Scott Michlin
Scott’s Pro-Lawn
Sheri McMurtry
Sheryl & Stephen Guy
Si Señor
SKA Brewing
Sky Ute Casino Resort
Smoothie King
Soma Pilates Studio
Sorrel Sky Gallery
Soul Den Hot Yoga
Spare Rib
Stained Glass Concepts
Star Liquors
Stephen Bowers & Wendy Grant
Steve & Marti Kiely
Steve Martin
Studio 116 - Alise
Studio 116 - Sage
Summit Dental
Sunnyside Farms Market
Telluride Chamber Music
The Boathouse
The Zen Den
There’s No Place Like Home
Tish Varney
Toh-Atin Gallery
Tomo Restaurant
Urban Market
W&Z Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar
Wal Art Gallery
Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve & Education Center
Wines of the San Juan Woodhouse Day Spa
Wyman Hotel
Zia Chicks
Ziems Ford Corners
MEMORIAL DONATIONS
In Memory of Mary Jane Clark
Daniel & Sheri Rochford-Figgs
In Memory of Walter Dear
Mary Sue Burnham, Bryan & Jacquelyn
Dear, ennie Dear & Tom Bartles, Carol & David Grenoble, Dick & Georgeann Reitz, Jim Peters, Robert W. Baird & Co.
In Memory of Jean Ryder
Daniel & Sheri Rochford-Figgs, Marian
Gilmore, Susan Kujawski, Dick & Beth Wheeler
In Memory of Louise Ryder
Dick & Beth Wheeler
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
1st Southwest Bank
Alex Benally’s Hogan
Alpine Bank
Artifacts 302
Artist In Residence Program at Fort Lewis College
ASAP Accounting & Payroll
Ascent Digital
Ballantine Communications
Ballantine Family Fund
Be Frank Foundation
City of Durango
City of Farmington
Clancy’s Irish Cantina
Coca-Cola Bottling Company
Colorado Gives Foundation
Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Community Foundation Serving SW Colorado
Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation
Duck Girl Art
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge
Railroad
Durango Botanic Gardens
Durango City Lifestyle Magazine
Durango Friends of the Arts
Durango Independent Film Festival
Durango Land and Homes
Durango Magazine
Durango School District 9-R
Econo Lodge Inn & Suites
HONORARY DONATIONS
In Honor of Ann Butler
Ellingson Condie Family Trust
In Honor of Rochelle Mann
Candace Kendrick
In Honor of Dan & Polly Morgenstern
Larry & Barbara Kronick
In Honor of Lech Usinowicz
George Usinowicz
Farmington High School
First Presbyterian Church-Farmington
Fort Lewis College Music Department
Four Corners Broadcasting
Gotcha Covered of Durango and Farmington
Henderson Fine Arts Center at San Juan College
Jimmy’s Music & Supply
Kroegers Ace Hardware
KSJE Radio
Levy Family Foundation
Local News Network
LPEA
Manna Soup Kitchen
Mill Street Bistro
Music In The Mountains
New Mexico Arts
Powerhouse Science Center
Psyche Digital
Public House 701
San Juan County Commissioners
San Juan Regional Medical Center
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
Summit Church
TBK Bank
Visit Durango
Wells Group Real Estate
Wines of the San Juan
Ziems Ford Corners
DIRECTORS 2024-25
Nancy Stoffer, President
Sara Michaels, Vice President
Steve Kiely, Treasurer
Wendy Grant, Secretary
Monica Leaming
Allen Lyon
Scott Michlin
Karen Morrison
Cynthia Rapp Sandhu
Alicia Romero
Carol Schmudde
Janice Sheftel
Tom Taylor
Brian Wagner
MUSICIANS’ REPRESENTATIVES
Kristen Folden
Tennille Taylor
STAFF
Meghann Zenteno, Executive Director
Thomas Heuser, Music Director
Elizabeth Crawford, San Juan Symphony Chamber Singers Director
Laura Argotsinger, Operations Manager
Molly Jensen, Youth Orchestra Director
Sam Post, Junior Orchestra DirectorDurango
Chris Argotsinger, Junior Orchestra Director - Farmington
Kyle Osborne, San Juan Symphony Chamber Singers Assistant Director
Lauren Avery, Librarian
Steve Blaylock, Stage Manager
Arthur Post, Music Director Laureate
Jan Roshong, Music Director Laureate
GRAPHIC DESIGN Duck Girl Art PHOTOGRAPHY Illuminarts, Allison Ragsdale Photography
SOCIAL MEDIA Ascent Digital
WEBSITE DESIGN Psyche Digital
MISSION STATEMENT:
The San Juan Symphony is dedicated to bringing musical excellence and educational enrichment to the diverse communities of the Four Corners region.
P. O. Box 1073 Durango, CO 81302 www.sanjuansymphony.org 970.382.9753
